Meeting Shorts

Jamie Hogue,of Nettl of Newark, (the new name for printing.com), reports

"We wouldn't be the first, but it would be great for Newark to take the lead in becoming a dementia-friendly town", suggested local MP Robert Jenrick in a meeting that covered a diverse range of topics, from Newark's ageing demographic to ensuring that our demands for dualling of the A46 from Farndon to Winthorpe remain front of mind.

Boost for Retail
Fantastic feedback and a surge of new customers: according to Jill Brown of the Retail Group these are some of the benefits from the town’s recent Fiver Fest, organised with Totally Locally. The event offered a variety of offers throughout the town centred around spending just £5 for great locally sourced and sold products.

“It’s wonderful to see new people coming into our shops and supporting our hardworking independent retailers,” enthused Jill. And while it might be early, she urged us to look ahead to Christmas (yep, it’s starting!) as many independent shops will be offering extended opening hours. “And remember the app!” she added, appealing for more local business owners to band together and showcase their fantastic offerings.

Ageing demographic
Our local MP, Robert Jenrick, then spoke about a new initiative designed to make Newark more accessible and increasingly accommodating for those residents suffering from dementia.

As Newark is the third oldest town in the country, soon with new housing developments we will be faced with the unusual demographic of young families and an ageing population. One of the ways we can address the issues that come with housing an older populace is to make sure we are dementia-friendly.

“We want to make Newark a dementia-friendly town, and while this isn’t totally unique, we can tweak local businesses to be more accessible,” he challenged. Following in the footsteps of towns like Dorchester, Bourne and Boston, making Newark dementia-friendly would consist of offering training to local businesses to make sure they are aware of how to better help those suffering from dementia and making small changes to their businesses, such as avoiding black or patterned carpets, as they can disorientate sufferers.

According to The Alzheimer’s Society, the mark of a dementia-friendly town is making sure “people will be aware of and understand more about dementia; people with dementia and their carers will be encouraged to seek help and support; and people with dementia will feel included in their community, be more independent and have more choice and control over their lives.”

Dualling firmly on the agenda
Another key item of discussion was encouraging local independent retailers to keep pressure on the government with the Action Group to ensure that changes to transport infrastructure in Newark do go ahead. Mr Jenrick said that he wanted a solid guarantee from the government that the dualling of the A46 from Farndon to Winthorpe would go ahead and wouldn’t simply be “pushed into the long grass for another ten years”.

Flood Funding Alert
Mr Jenrick also announced that victims of the 2013 flooding in Southwell will be able to pool their government grants to create a huge boost to their ongoing prevention efforts. Residents were initially told they would not be able to group the £5000 that each affected household received, but the government have now decided that it is acceptable, meaning Southwell’s flood prevention fund holds a healthy £250,000.

Electrifying announcement
“Electrification of the East Midlands mainline will go ahead,” added Robert. While there has been an ongoing dispute between National Rail and our town about changes to the railway line, an internal review by National Rail has now admitted that the proposal was poorly handled and electrification of the line will go ahead; reaching Nottingham in 2023.

Into the Forest
Silicon Forest, a major project by a cluster of forward-thinking organisations that aims to establish Newark and Sherwood as a centre of excellence for Innovation and Technology, will launch on October 13th. Jason Bradbury, presenter of the Gadget Show and inventor of the world’s first working jet-powered hoverboard, will launch the opening with a keynote speech. To find out what this projects means for Newark or to book onto the event, visit www.siliconforest.org.uk.

Committees

Viridis leads the way with 3D design software

As Chartered Engineers, Viridis Building Services Ltd is, first and foremost, a client led practice that has a sustainable low cost low carbon ethos at the forefront of design. Our practice is based in both Newark-on-Trent & Falkirk which allows us to service our customers from geographically central locations.

We work to “fabric first” principles to eliminate, remove and reduce m&e from buildings; in essence designing out building services; heating, lighting, ventilation, air conditioning & the like. All based on an environmentally led approach to the design of any building in partnership with Clients, Architects and our broader design & installation team colleagues.

As a practice our services extend from initial consultations and advice, through to feasibility studies, building regulations approvals (SAPS & SBEMs), concept design, performance plus specifications to detailed design, specification, supervision and project engineering support. All of which are adaptable and interchangeable all to suit our client’s needs.

Our Practice and Team expertise includes design, installation, contract and commercial expertise across industry sectors including Offices, Education, Retail, MOD, Healthcare, Blue Light, Industrial, Residential, Mixed Use, Heritage, Community and Research buildings.
As a practice we strive to be innovative and forward thinking all to ensure we provide the right service for our clients regardless of project size or complexity. To this end we invest annually to ensure that we retain the latest industry software to ensure that we can design as standard in 3D rather than 2D as is still a norm within our industry.
Using 3D design software allows us to enhance our designs to such a level that we resolve issues before they become apparent later on, as can be the norm with 2D design. Designing in 3D also allows us to provide greater accuracy within our budget estimations. We operate to BIM level 2 on all project and plan to have an Open BIM server in place during 2016.

Our Practice delivers its services through and in accordance with a controlled process led quality management system accredited to ISO 9001: 2008. Our ISO 9001 certification is third party accredited and certified. We are currently working towards our ISO 14001 certification and accreditation.

Unique in the way we work and think our approach from a built environment perspective combining innovation, application and delivery of sound engineering principles, we apply solutions today that won’t compromise our futures’ whilst ensuring we meet our client’s objectives and achieve their goals.

Silicon Forest set for October launch with Gadget man

Presenter of the Gadget Show and inventor of the world’s first working jet-powered hoverboard has been booked to launch Silicon Forest on October 13th at The Everyday Champions Centre.
The event will include:

Inspirational Presentations

Interactive Workshops

Technology Showcases

Helping any business get an edge using technology

If you use the code NBCSept15 you will receive a VIP ticket, but this code has a limited run, so be quick!

Last Chance to enter Business Awards

As one of the key sponsors of the Newark Business Awards 2015 we wanted to remind you that there are only a few days left to enter.

Award categories:

Technology in Business
sponsored by Invest Newark & Sherwood

Employee and Apprentice of the Year
sponsored by Advertiser Media Group

Business Person of the Year
sponsored by Chattertons Solicitors

Customer Service Award
sponsored by East Midlands Chamber of Commerce

Excellence in Business Small/Medium and Large Enterprise
sponsored by Duncan & Toplis

Successful New Business
sponsored by Newark Business Club

Training and Staff Development
sponsored by Newark College

Lifetime Achievement Award
sponsored by Handelsbanken

If you are interested in entering or know a company that might be interested go to newarkadvertiser.co.uk/nba to get an entry form.

Get The Edge UK
This month's winner of the business card draw was Jon Davis of Get The Edge UK Training and Consultancy. He formed the business with business partner Steve Robinson, with the aim of inspiring clients to achieve their true potential, as individuals, teams and as a business.
An example of this is their culture change programmes which helps turn:

Into:
Highly engaged and committed people
An energised work force
A cohesive team
Delivering a world-class customer experience
Motivation without money
High results and improved performance

In addition Jon delivers inspirational leadership retreats, where he shares the behavioural traits and philosophies of great leaders and helps delegates define their business values, set clear objectives and lead people from the heart. For more information call Jon on 07504 347091 or visit www.gettheedgeuk.co.uk

Next Meeting

Friday 6th November 7am

Everyday Champions Centre

Newark Business Club meets at the Everyday Champions Conference Centre at 7am. Entry fee £5.00 including coffee. Come early to secure a good seat